Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T06:08:29.086Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Mercury's Falling: The Massachusetts Approach to Reducing Mercury in the Environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2021

Pamela D. Harvey  and
C. Mark Smith
Pamela D. Harvey
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
C. Mark Smith
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection; New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Mercury Task Force
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Mercury is a persistent, bioaccumulative toxin that adversely affects human beings and wildlife. Mercury, like many such toxins, is a multimedia pollutant that can readily transfer among air, water, and soils, and thus crosses the boundaries of traditional regulatory programs. Mercury can also be transported long distances in the atmosphere, creating transboundary issues that are regional and global in scope. Human exposure to mercury is largely attributable to the consumption of contaminated fish, with women of childbearing age, infants, and children at greatest risk. Because mercury persists in the environment, the risk of neurological or other impairments can span generations. Mercury, largely from anthropogenic sources, enters aquatic systems through a variety of pathways including direct deposition from the atmosphere, runoff, and wastewater discharges.

Type
Article
Information
American Journal of Law & Medicine , Volume 30 , Issue 2-3 , June 2004 , pp. 245 - 281
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics and Boston University 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Mercury is classified as a persistent bioaccumulative toxin chemical under several programs. See, e.g., U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, TOXICS RELEASE INVENTORY PROGRAM, at http://www.epa.gov/tri/chemical/pbt_chem_list.htm (Feb. 11, 2004); EPA, NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF DRAFT RCRA WASTE MINIMIZATION PBT CHEMICAL LIST, at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WASTE/1998/November/Day-09/f29952.htm (Oct. 30, 1998). Detailed information on the characteristics that define such chemicals can be found at the listed web sites.

2 ECOLOGICAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT NETWORK, MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF CONTINENTAL POLLUTANT PATHWAYS, MERCURY: CASE STUDY, at http://www.eman-rese.ca/eman/reports/publications/99_mercurywkshp/page3.html (last updated Aug. 10, 2000).

3 For further discussion of mercury as a global pollutant, see generally INTER-ORGANIZATION PROGRAMME FOR THE SOUND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICALS, GLOBAL MERCURY ASSESSMENT (2002), available at http://www.chem.unep.ch/mercury/Report/Final%20Assessment%20report.htm [hereinafter GLOBAL MERCURY ASSESSMENT]. Further discussion of U.S. regional impacts can be found in MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS: AN EVALUATION OF SOURCES, EMISSIONS, IMPACTS AND CONTROLS (C. Mark Smith & Carol Rowan-West eds., 1996), available at http://www.mass.gov/dep/files/mercury/hgexsum.htm [hereinafter MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS]; NORTHEAST STATES FOR COORDINATED AIR USE MANAGEMENT, NORTHEAST STATES AND EASTERN CANADIAN PROVINCES MERCURY STUDY: A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION (1998) [hereinafter A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION].

4 See infra notes 75-80 and accompanying text.

5 See MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3; A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION, supra note 3

6 See infra Part II.A.

7 See infra Part IV.

8 Id.

9 Id.

10 AGENCY FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND DISEASE REGISTRY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR MERCURY (1999), available at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp46.html [hereinafter TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR MERCURY]; GLOBAL MERCURY ASSESSMENT, supra note 3; EPA, MERCURY STUDY REPORT TO CONGRESS, EPA 452/R-97-003, vol. 3 (1997), available at http://www.epa.gov/oar/mercury.html [hereinafter EPA- MERCURY STUDY].

11 W. F. Fitzgerald et al., Air Water Cycling of Mercury in Lakes, in MERCURY POLLUTION, INTEGRATION AND SYNTHESIS 203 (Carl J. Watras & John W. Huckabee eds., 1994); MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3, at 2.4.

12 John Munthe, The Atmospheric Chemistry of Mercury: Kinetic Studies of Redox Reactions, in MERCURY POLLUTION, INTERGATION AND SYNTHESIS 273 (Carl J. Watras & John W. Huckabee eds., 1994); W. H., Schroeder et al., Transformation Processes Involving Mercury Species in the AtmosphereResults from a Literature Survey, 56 WATER AIR & SOIL POLLUTION 653 (1991)Google Scholar.

13 Fitzgerald et al., supra note 11; MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3; EPA MERCURY STUDY, supra note 10, vol. 3

14 EPA MERCURY STUDY, supra note 10, vol. 3; MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3, ch. 2.

15 AGRICULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, PURDUE UNIVERSITY, WHY DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MERCURY?, at http://pasture.ecn.purdue.edu/~mercury/src/why2.htm (last visited July 13, 2004); MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3, chs. 1, 2.

16 Oliver, Lindqvist & Henning, Rodhe, Atmospheric MercuryA Review, 37B TELLUS 136, 140 (1985)Google Scholar; Franz, Slemr et al., Distribution, Speciation and Budget of Atmospheric Mercury, 3 J. ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY 407 (1985)Google Scholar.

17 See, e.g., SACHINATH MITRA, MERCURY IN THE ECOSYSTEM (1986); EPA MERCURY STUDY, supra note 10, vol. 3.

18 MITRA, supra note 17; EPA MERCURY STUDY, supra note 10; TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR MERCURY, supra note 10, ch. 3.

19 Munthe, supra note 12; Schroeder et al., supra note 12; EPA MERCURY STUDY, supra note 10, vol. 3.

20 EPA MERCURY STUDY, supra note 10, vol. 2; TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR MERCURY, supra note 10, ch. 4.

21 MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3, at 2.4; EPA MERCURY STUDY, supra note 10, vol. 5; TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR MERCURY, supra note 10, ch. 2.

22 MASSACHUSETTS DEP, MERCURY: FORMS, FATE & EFFECTS, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/files/mercury/hgch2.htm (last upated Aug. 8, 1996) [hereinafter MERCURY: FORMS, FATE & EFFECTS].

23 There is considerable variability between waterbodies in the degree to which methyl mercury concentrates into fish. Factors can range from 104 to in excess of 106. D. B. Porcela, Mercury In the Environment: Biogeochemistry, in MERCURY POLLUTION, INTEGRATION AND SYNTHESIS 3, 9 (Carl J. Watras & John W. Huckabee eds., 1994); Carl, J. Watras & Nicolas, S. Bloom, Mercury and Methylmercury in Individual Zooplankton: Implications for Bioaccumulation, 37 LIMNOLOGY & OCEANOGRAPHY 1313 (1992)Google Scholar.

24 NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, MERCURY HEALTH HAZARDS, at http://www.nih.gov/od/ors/ds/nomercury/health.htm (last visited July 13, 2004).

25 Id.

26 Porcela, supra note 23; Watras & Bloom, supra note 23.

27 MERCURY: FORMS, FATE & EFFECTS, supra note 22.

28 Id.

29 R. P. Mason et al., Bioaccumulation of Mercury and Methylmercury, in MERCURY AS A GLOBAL POLLUTANT: PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE HELD IN WHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, JULY 10-14, 1994, at 915 (D. B. Porcella et al. eds., 1995); R. P., Mason et al., The Biogeochemical Cycling of Elemental Mercury: Anthropogenic Influences, 58 GEOCHEMICIA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA 3191 (1994)Google Scholar.

30 Arne Anderssen, Mercury in Soils, in THE BIOGEOCHEMISTRY OF MERCURY IN THE ENVIRONMENT 79 (Jerome O. Nriagu ed., 1979). Large cinnabar deposits are found in California, with extractable quantities in Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Arkansas, Idaho, and Texas.

31 MERCURY: FORMS, FATE & EFFECTS, supra note 22.

32 Id.

33 William, F. Fitzgerald et al., The Case for Atmospheric Mercury Contamination in Remote Areas, 32 ENVTL. SCI. & TECH. 1 (1998)Google Scholar.

34 Edward, B. Swain et al., Increasing Rates Of Atmospheric Mercury Deposition in Midcontinental North America, 257 SCIENCE 784 (1992)Google Scholar. Mercury flux into sediments of two lakes in Massachusetts increased by approximately four-fold in one case to over twelve-fold in the other from the 1800s to the present (unpublished data, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and University of Massachusetts). Similar results have been observed in lakes in New Hampshire and Vermont.

35 STEPHEN M. JASINSKI, THE MATERIALS FLOW OF MERCURY IN THE U.S. tbl. 4 (1994), available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/usbmic/ic-9412/mercury.pdf; GLOBAL MERCURY ASSESSMENT, supra note 3; Michael T. Bender, Stewardship of Mercury: The Environmental Perspective, at http://www.mercurypolicy.org/ (Oct. 29, 2003).

36 GLOBAL MERCURY ASSESSMENT, supra note 3.

37 MERCURY STEWARDSHIP, QUICKSILVER CAUCUS, MERCURY COMMODITY MARKET REVIEW, at http://www.sso.org/ecos/Quick%20silver%20documents/RD-SC%20%20MARK%20FACTS%20Feb-03.pdf (Draft, Feb. 2003).

38 Primarily attributable to the closure of chloralkali plants or their conversion to non-mercury processes. Such plants typically have several tons of mercury on site. See QUICKSILVER CAUCUS, supra note 37.

39 See MERCURY MANAGEMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, at http://www.mercuryeis.com/documents/FinalFS/DNSC_FS.pdf (Apr. 2003).

40 Id.

41 See id; QUICKSILVER CAUCUS, supra note 37.

42 See EPA, BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON MERCURY SOURCES AND REGULATIONS, at http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/bnsdocs/mercsrce/merc_srce.html (last updated Jan. 7, 2004).

43 Id.

44 See MERCURY MANAGEMENT, supra note 39.

45 See, e.g., ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL OF STATES, REPORT OF THE ECOS MERCURY WORKSHIP, VOLUME 1, ECOS 01-002, at http://www.sso.org/ecos/projects/Mercury/ (Feb. 2001). The multitude of legal, political, and practical issues related to the disposition of the stockpile is beyond the scope of this Article.

46 A 1989 study concluded that U.S. government mercury stockpile releases in the late 1980s lowered the market price by 20 per flask. Michael Rieber & DeVerle P. Harris, Mercury Pollution: The Impact of U.S. Government Stockpile Sales, in MERCURY POLLUTION: INTEGRATION AND SYNTHESIS 615, 618 (Carl J. Watras & John W. Huckabee eds., 1994).

47 MERCURY MANAGEMENT, supra note 39.

48 U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, MERCURY STATISTICS AND INFORMATION, at http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/mercury/index.htmlmcs (last modified Apr. 9, 2004).

49 See STEPHEN M. JASINSKI, THE MATERIALS FLOW OF MERCURY IN THE U.S. tbl. 4 (1994), available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/usbmic/ic-9412/mercury.pdf.

50 Id.

51 NORTHEAST WASTE MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION, INTERSTATE MERCURY EDUCATION & REDUCTION CLEARINGHOUSE (IMERC), MERCURY-ADDED PRODUCTS DATABASE, at http://www.newmoa.org/Newmoa/htdocs/prevention/mercury/imerc/notification/index.cfm (last visited July 13, 2004).

52 See JASINSKI, supra note 49.

53 Id.

54 Based on a per capita extrapolation from U.S. Geological Survey data for 1997. Current use is likely to be somewhat lower due to declining placement of amalgam fillings.

55 See, e.g., D., Arenholt-Bindslev & A. H., Larsen, Mercury Levels and Discharge in Waste Water from Dental Clinics, 86 WATER AIR & SOIL POLLUTION 93 (1996)Google Scholar; Gregory Banks, Mercury From Dental Offices: Assessment and Control (2003) (unpublished thesis, University of Massachusetts) (on file with author); Albert, O. Adegbembo et al., The Weight of Wastes Generated by Removal of Dental Amalgam Restorations and the Concentration of Mercury in Dental Wastewater, 68 J. CANADIAN DENTAL ASSN 553 (2002)Google Scholar.

56 Id.

57 See Pam, Factor-Litvak et al., Mercury Derived from Dental Amalgams and Neuropsychologic Function, 111 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 719 (2003)Google Scholar

58 See M. J., Vimy et al., Mercury From Maternal Silver Tooth Fillings in Sheep and Human Breast Milk: A Source of Neonatal Exposure, 56 BIOLOGICAL TRACE ELEMENT RES. 143 (1997)Google Scholar; M. J., Vimy et al., Maternal-fetal Distribution of Mercury (203Hg) Released from Dental Amalagam Fillings, 258 AM. J. PHYSIOLOGY R939 (1990)Google Scholar; G. Drasch et al., Mercury Burden of Human Fetal and Infant Tissues, 158 EUR. J. POEDIATRICS 607 (1994); AMERICAN DENTAL ASSN, DENTAL AMALGAM: MYTHS VS. FACTS, at http://www.ada.org/public/media/releases/0207_release01.asp (July 2002).

59 See HEALTH CANADA, SAFETY OF DENTAL AMALGAM: HEALTH CANADA STATES POSITION, at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/media/releases/1996/index.htm (Aug. 21, 1996); UNIVERSITETET I BERGEN (NORWAY), THE USE OF DENTAL FILLING MATERIALS IN NORWAY, NORWEGIAN BOARD OF HEALTH (1999), at http://www.uib.no/bivirkningsgruppen/BVGtxt/ik-eng.pdf.

60 For instance, composite fillings and ionomers may not have the durability of amalgam for high chewing loads and are generally more expensive. Ionomers can cause an allergic reaction in some patients, as can amalgam. AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION, ORAL HEALTH TOPICS, RESTORING YOUR SMILE: DENTAL FILLING OPTIONS, at http://www.ada.org/public/topics/fillings.asp (last visited July 13, 2004).

61 GLOBAL MERCURY ASSESSMENT, supra note 3, ch. 6.

62 Research by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection demonstrates that a significant fraction of the mercury contained in a broken florescent bulb can volatilize after breakage but before final disposal. Michael, Aucott et al., Release of Mercury from Broken Fluorescent Bulbs, 53 J. AIR & WASTE MGMT. ASSN 143 (2003)Google Scholar.

63 GLOBAL MERCURY ASSESSMENT, supra note 3.

64 NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, TOXICOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF METHYLMERCURY (2000); EPA MERCURY STUDY, supra note 10, vol. V; TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR MERCURY, supra note 10.

65 Jukka, T. Salonen et al., Mercury Accumulation And Accelerated Progression Of Carotid Atherosclerosis: A Population-Based Prospective 4-Year Follow-Up Study in Men in Eastern Finland, 148 ATHEROSCLEROSIS 265 (2000)Google Scholar; Philippe, Grandjean et al., Cardiac Autonomic Activity in Methylmercury Neurotoxicity: 14-Year Follow-Up of a Faroese Birth Cohort, 144 J. PEDIATRICS 169 (2004)Google Scholar.

66 See EPA, MERCURY: HUMAN HEALTH, at http://www.epa.gov/mercury/health.htm (last updated Mar. 31, 2004).

67 Death from Lab Poisoning, 276 SCIENCE 1797 (1997); OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, HAZARD INFORMATION BULLETIN FOR: DIMETHYLMERCURY, at http://www.osha.gov/dts/hib/hib_data/hib19980309.html (Mar. 9, 1998).

68 For additional information on these aspects of mercury toxicity, see MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3, apps. D, 2.C.; EPA MERCURY STUDY, supra note 10, vol. V; TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR MERCURY, supra note 10, at 162.

69 TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR MERCURY, supra note 10.

70 Id.

71 Id.

72 Id.

73 Id.

74 Id.

75 See id. at 253.

76 Id. at 293.

77 Id. at 357 tbls. 2-14.

78 Id.

79 H., Matsumoto et al., Fetal Minamata Disease: A Neuropathological Study of Two Cases of Intrauterine Intoxication by a Methyl Mercury Compound, 24 J. NEUROPATHOLOGY EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY 563 (1965)Google Scholar; INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION IN JAPAN ch. 4 (Jun Ui ed., 1992), available at http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu35ie/uu35ie00.htmContents.

80 F., Bakir et al., Methylmercury Poisoning in Iraq, 181 SCIENCE 230 (1973)Google Scholar.

81 Id.; Thomas W. Clarkson et al., An Outbreak Of Methylmercury Poisoning Due To Consumption Of Contaminated Grain, 35. FEDN PROCEEDINGS 2395 (1976).

82 F. Bakir et al., supra note 80, at 236.

83 Key findings are summarized in NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, supra note 64, at 1-12. For more recent results see, Katsuyuki, Murata et al., Delayed Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential Latencies in 14-Year-Old Children Exposed to Methylmercury, 144 J. PEDIATRICS 177 (2004)Google Scholar; Salonen et al., supra note 67; Grandjean et al., supra note 67.

84 Many of the key results of the Seychelles and Faore Island studies are summarized in NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, supra note 64, at 129-33.

85 Gary, J. Myers et al., Prenatal Methylmercury Exposure from Ocean Fish Consumption in the Seychelles Child Development Study, 361 LANCET 1686 (2003)Google Scholar.

86 NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, supra note 64, at 131-33.

87 Marata, supra note 83.

88 NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, supra note 64, at 5.

89 Id. at 6.

90 Id. at 9-10.

91 Although the focus of this Article is on human health impacts, fish-eating wildlife such as loons, can also be adversely affected. David, C. Evers et al., Geographic Trend in Mercury Measured in Common Loon Feathers and Blood, 17 ENVTL. TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY 173 (1998)Google Scholar. Recent data indicates that some insectivorus birds may also accumulate significant amounts of mercury. David Evers, Adjunct Professor of Biology and Adjunct Senior Scientist, Center for Integrated and Applied Environmental Toxicology, University of Southern Maine, Presentation at Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management 2004 Mercury Science Policy Workshop (May 27-28, 2004).

92 U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Mercury in Fish: Cause for Concern?, FDA CONSUMER, Sept. 1994, available at http://www.fda.gov/fdac/reprints/mercury.html.

93 EPA, UPDATE: NATIONAL LISTING OF FISH AND WILDLIFE ADVISORIES, EPA-823-F-03- 003, at 5 (May 2003), available at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/advisories/factsheet.pdf.

94 Massachusetts fish consumption advisory information can be found at MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, BUREAU OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT, at http://www.state.ma.us/dph/beha/beha.htm (last visited July 13, 2004); DHHS & EPA, WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MERCURY IN FISH AND SHELLFISH, at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg3.html (Mar. 2004).

95 See TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR MERCURY, supra note 10; NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, supra note 64.

96 See TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR MERCURY, supra note 10; NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, supra note 64; NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS, GET THE MERCURY OUT THE EFFECTS OF MERCURY ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, at http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/merc.html (last visited July 13, 2004).

97 CDC, DHHS, SECOND NATIONAL REPORT ON HUMAN EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS: MERCURY, NCEH PUB. NO. 02-0716 (2003), available at http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport.

98 Kathryn, Mahaffey et al., Blood Organic Mercury and Dietary Mercury Intake National Health and Nutrition Survey 1999-2000, 112 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 562 (2004)Google Scholar.

99 Kathryn Mahaffey, Update on Recent Epidemiologic Mercury Studies (2004) (presentation at the National Forum on Contaminants in Fish, San Diego), available at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/forum/2004/agenda.htm.

100 Jane, M. Hightower & Dan, Moore, Mercury Levels in High-End Consumers of Fish, 111 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 604 (2003)Google Scholar, available at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2003/5837/5837.html.

101 Anthony, Carpi & Yung-Fou, Chen, Gaseous Elemental Mercury as an Indoor Air Pollutant, 35 ENVTL. SCI. & TECH. 4170 (2001)Google Scholar.

102 Donna, M. Riley et al., Assessing Elemental Mercury Vapor Exposures from Cultural and Religious Practices, 109 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 779 (2001)Google Scholar, available at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2001/109p779-784riley/riley-full.html.

103 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, CITY OF NEW YORK, METALLIC MERCURY EXPOSURE: A GUIDE FOR HEALTH-CARE PROVIDERS (1999), available at http://www.mercurypoisoningproject.org/pdf/metallic99.pdf.

104 See, e.g., ATSDR, DHHS, ATSDR NATIONAL ALERT: A WARNING ABOUT CONTINUING PATTERNS OF METALLIC MERCURY EXPOSURE, at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/alerts/970626.html (June 26, 1997); CDC, DHHS, MERCURY EXPOSURE IN A RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITYFLORIDA, 1994, at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00037313.htm (June 16, 1995).

105 ATSDR, DHHS, CASE STUDIES IN ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE: PEDIATRIC ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH app. B, at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HEC/CSEM/pediatric/appendixb.html (last updated Dec. 18, 2003).

106 IMMUNIZATION SAFETY REVIEW COMMITTEE, INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE, IMMUNIZATION SAFETY REVIEW: VACCINES AND AUTISM (2004); CDC RESEARCH ON THE SAFETY OF THIMEROSAL CONTAINING VACCINES, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, at http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vacsafe/concerns/thimerosal/researchQAs.htm (last reviewed May 19, 2004).

107 IMMUNIZATION SAFETY REVIEW COMMITTEE, INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE, IMMUNIZATION SAFETY REVIEW: THIMEROSAL-CONTAINING VACCINES AND NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS (Kathleen Stratton et al. eds., 2001). In its 2001 review of the issue, the Institute of Medicine acknowledged concern over the use of thimerosal in childhood vaccines and recommended that its use be discontinued. At this time essentially no childhood vaccines in the United States contain added thimerosal.

108 M., Waly et al., V-A Power-Charnitsky and R C Deth. Activation of methionine synthase by insulin-like growth factor-1 and dopamine: a target for neurodevelopmental toxins and thimerosal, 9 MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY 358 (2004)Google Scholar.

109 TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR MERCURY, supra note 10.

110 Id.

111 UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME, GLOBAL MERCURY ASSESSMENT: KEY FINDINGS, at http://www.chem.unep.ch/mercury/Report/Key-findings.htm (last visited July 13, 2004).

112 Id.

113 Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7612 (2000).

114 EPA, UTILITY MERCURY REDUCTIONS RULE, at http://www.epa.gov/air/mercuryrule/ (last updated Apr. 30, 2004).

115 See infra Part IV.

116 UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE, PROTOCAL ON HEAVY METALS, at http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/hm_h1.htm (last updated May 27, 2004).

117 UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE, PROTOCOLS ON HEAVY METALS ENTERS INTO FORCE AND NEW WORK ON PRESISTENT ORGANIC POLLUNTANTS AGREED, at http://www.unece.org/press/pr2003/03env_p27e.htm (Dec. 23, 2003).

118 UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE, supra note 116.

119 Id.

120 Id.

121 Id.

122 Id.

123 Id.

124 UNEP, MERCURY ASSESSMENT AMONG KEY DECISIONS TAKEN AT END OF UNEP GOVERNING COUNCIL, at http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=192&ArticleID=2770&l=en (Feb. 9, 2001).

125 UNEP, ACTION ON CHEMICALS POLLUTION AND SUPPORT FOR AFRICA AGREED AT END OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS MEETING, at http://www.chem.unep.ch/mercury/CLOSING%20PRESS%20RELEASE.doc (Feb. 7, 2001). United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has established a voluntary mercury program within the UNEP chemicals initiative with a long-term objective to facilitate national, regional, and global actions to reduce or eliminate as far as possible anthropogenic uses and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. UNEP, MERCURY PROGRAMME, at http://www.chem.unep.ch/mercury/ (last visited July 13, 2004).

126 UNEP, UNEP GOVERNING COUNCIL MANDATE, at http://www.chem.unep.ch/mercury/mandate-2003.htm (Feb. 7, 2003).

127 Id.

128 GLOBAL MERCURY ASSESSMENT, supra note 3.

129 Id.

130 NORTH AMERICAN COMMISSION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION, MERCURY HOT SPOTS OF NORTH AMERICA, at http://cec.org/trio/stories/index.cfm?ed=9&ID=119&varlan=english (last updated June 13, 2004).

131 NORTH AMERICAN COMMISSION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION, WHO WE ARE, at http://www.cec.org/who_we_are/index.cfm?varlan=English (last visited July 13, 2004).

132 NORTH AMERICAN IMPLEMENTATION TASK FORCE ON MERCURY, NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL ACTION PLAN ON MERCURY, at http://www.cec.org/programs_projects/pollutants_health/smoc/pdfs/hgnarap.pdf (March 16, 2000).

133 Id.

134 Id. at 8.

135 Id. at 14.

136 EPA, GREAT LAKES BINATIONAL TOXICS STRATEGY, at http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/bns (last updated June 30, 2004).

137 EPA, GREAT LAKES BINATIONAL TOXICS STRATEGY: INTRODUCTION, at http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/p2/bnsintro.html (last updated June 30, 2004).

138 Id.

139 Id.

140 EPA, U.S., CANADA MOVE TO ELIMINATE TOXICS IN GREAT LAKES, at http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/canada/04.htm (Apr. 7, 1997).

141 EPA, BNS WORKGROUP UPDATES 1999: DIOXINS/FURANS, at http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/bnsdocs/wkgpupdates/99updatedioxin.html (Apr. 27, 1999).

142 See Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7401 (2000); Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 (2000); Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300f (1974); Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. 6901; Toxic Substances Control Act, 15 U.S.C. 2601 (2000).

143 56 Fed. Reg. 3526, 3528 (Jan. 30, 1991) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pts. 141-143).

144 Id. at 3526, 3531.

145 Id. at 3526, 3535.

146 EPA, NATIONAL RECOMMENDED WATER QUALITY CRITERIA: 2002, EPA 822-R02-047, at 12 (2002), available at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/pc/revcom.pdf.

147 Id. at 5.

148 Id. at 12.

149 See 44 Fed. Reg. 3990 (Jan. 19, 1979) (to be codified at 21 C.F.R. pt. 109). The Food and Drug Administration has also addressed the use of mercury-based preservatives in pharmaceuticals in response to public and congressional concerns. U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, THIMEROSAL IN VACCINES, at http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htmtoc (last updated Oct. 6, 2003) [hereinafter THIMEROSAL IN VACCINES].

150 44 Fed. Reg. 3990.

151 THIMEROSAL IN VACCINES, supra note 149.

152 MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, A GUIDE TO EATING FISH SAFELY IN MASSACHUSETTS AND MDPH ISSUES NEW CONSUMER ADVISORIES ON FISH CONSUMPTION AND MERCURY CONTAMINATION at http://www.state.ma.us/dph/beha/mercury/merchp.htm (last visited July 13, 2004).

153 Colleen Luccioli, Mercury: FDA Mull New Consumer Advisory Program for Mercury Content of Fish, at http://www.mercurypolicy.org/new/greenwire112800.shtml (Nov. 28, 2000).

154 Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7412 (2000).

155 40 C.F.R. 61.52(b) (2003).

156 Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 112.

157 Id.

158 Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 112(d)(2), 7412(d)(2).

159 Id. 112(n)(1)(A).

160 Id. 112(n)(1)(B).

161 65 Fed. Reg. 79,825 (Dec. 20, 2000).

162 Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 92-1415 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 13, 1999).

163 42 U.S.C. 112(d)(3), 7412(d)(3).

164 Id. 129, 7429.

165 Id.; Emission Guidelines: Municipal Waste Combustors, 59 Fed. Reg. 48,228, 48,234 (Sept. 20, 1994) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pt. 60).

166 See Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources; Municipal Waste Combustors, 54 Fed. Reg. 52,251, 52,274 (Dec. 20, 1989) (to be cofidied at 40 C.F.R. pt 60); 56 Fed. Reg. 5,488, 5491 (Feb. 11, 1991) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pts. 51, 52, 60).

167 DAVID J. HURD ET AL., RECYCLING OF CONSUMER DRY CELL BATTERIES 54 (1993).

168 42 U.S.C. 14301 (2000).

169 Rule To Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone (Interstate Air Quality Rule), 69 Fed. Reg. 4,566, 4,574 (Jan. 30, 2004) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pts. 51, 72, 75, 96).

170 Id. at 4,574.

171 Id.

172 Id. at 4,566.

173 Id.

174 MASSACHUSETTS DEP, BUREAU OF WASTE PREVENTION, EVALUATION OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF CONTROLLING AND ELIMINATING MERCURY EMISSIONS FROM THE COMBUSTION OF SOLID FOSSIL FUEL (Dec. 2002), available at http://www.state.ma.us/dep/bwp/hgres.htm [hereinafter TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY EVALUATION]; NORTHEAST STATES FOR COORDINATED AIR USE MANAGEMENT, MERCURY EMISSIONS FROM COALFIRED POWER PLANTS: THE CASE FOR REGULATORY ACTION ch. 3, at 2 (2003), available at http://bronze.nescaum.org/newsroom/rpt031104mercury.pdf [hereinafter EMISSIONS FROM COALFIRED POWER PLANTS].

175 69 Fed. Reg. 4,566, 4,652.

176 EPA, FACT SHEET: PROPOSED SUPPLEMENTAL RULE FOR REDUCING MERCURY EMISSIONS FROM POWER PLANTS, at http://www.epa.gov/air/mercuryrule/factsheetsup.pdf (last visited May 12, 2004).

177 Id.

178 Id.

179 Id.

180 Id.

181 Id.

182 69 Fed. Reg. 4,566 (Jan. 30, 2004) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pts. 51, 72, 75, 96).

183 U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, EPA PROPOSES OPTIONS FOR SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING MERCURY EMISSIONS FROM ELECTRIC UTILITIES, at http://www.epa.gov/air/mercuryrule/hg_factsheet1_29_04.pdf (Jan. 29, 2004).

184 Id.

185 Id.

186 Id.

187 69 Fed. Reg. 4,566.

188 TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY EVALUATION, supra note 174; EMISSIONS FROM COALFIRED POWER PLANTS, supra note 174.

189 For a discussion of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) view of this issue, see 69 Fed. Reg. 4,652 (Jan. 30, 2004) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pts. 60, 63). The debate on this issue was joined upon publication of the proposed rule and will doubtless generate articles on this single topic, but is beyond the scope of this article.

190 See SIERRA CLUB, BUSH ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES WEAK MERCURY CONTROL STANDARDS FOR COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS, at http://www.sierraclub.org/cleanair/mercury/talking_points.asp (last visited July 13, 2004).

191 Id.

192 MASSACHUSETTS DEP, FISH MERCURY DISTRIBUTION IN MASSACHUSETTS LAKES: FINAL REPORT, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/bwp.hgres.htm (May 1997) [hereinafter FISH MERCURY DISTRIBUTION].

193 MASSACHUSETTS DEP, MASSACHUSETTS ZERO MERCURY STRATEGY 12-15 (2000), available at http://www.mass.gov/dep/bwp/hgres.htm [hereinafter MASS. ZERO MERCURY STRATEGY].

194 MASSACHUSETTS DEP, MATERIAL SEPARATION GUIDANCE FOR MUNICIPAL WASTE COMBUSTORS, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/bwp/dswm/files/mspfin3.doc (Jan. 5, 2000) [hereinafter MATERIAL SEPARATION GUIDANCE].

195 See, e.g., MASS. REGS. CODE tit. 310, 7.08(2) (2004); ME. REV. STAT. ANN. tit. 38, 1661 (2004); MASS. ZERO MERCURY STRATEGY, supra note 193.

196 MASS. ZERO MERCURY STRATEGY, supra note 193.

197 Based on a per capita extrapolation of national data. See Michael Hawthorne, Pregnant Women Get New Mercury Warning: 1 in 7 Newborns May Be Affected, CHI. TRIB., Feb. 7, 2004, at C1.

198 See MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3.

199 See id.

200 MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3, ch. 5.

201 FISH MERCURY DISTRIBUTION, supra note 192. Since this report was completed several additional waterbodies have been tested.

202 Id.

203 For detailed information on Massachusetts fish consumption advisories, see BUREAU OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT, MASSACHUSETTS DEP, FRESHWATER FISH CONSUMPTION ADVISORY LISTAPRIL 2004, at http://www.mass.gov/dph/beha/fishlist.htm (Apr. 2004).

204 DEP, MERCURY IN THE ENVIRONMENT (2002), available at http://www.mass.gov/dep/bwp/hgres.htm [hereinafter MERCURY IN THE ENVIRONMENT].

205 FISH MERCURY DISTRIBUTION, supra note 192, at 2.

206 MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3, ch. 4.

207 Id.

208 Id.

209 Id.

210 Executive Summary of MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3.

211 Id. at ch. 4.

212 Id. tbl. 3-16.

213 MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3, ch. 3.

214 See id.

215 Id. fig. 1.

216 Id.

217 Id.

218 Id.

219 Id.

220 MASSACHUSETTS DEP, DRAFT MERCURY REGULATIONS FOR POWER PLANTS: TECHNICAL SUPPORT DOCUMENT 6, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/bwp/hgres.htm (Oct. 2003) [hereinafter TECHNICAL SUPPORT DOCUMENT].

221 NORTHEAST STATES FOR COORDINATED AIR USE MANAGEMENT, NORTHEAST STATES NEW REPORT SHOWS OVER 90% REDUCTION IN POWER PLANT MERCURY EMISSIONS IS ACHIEVABLE: EPA SHOULD ADOPT STRICT MACT STANDARD WITHOUT DELAY, at http://www.nescaum.org/newsroom/pr031104mercury.pdf (Nov. 4, 2003).

222 MATERIAL SEPARATION GUIDANCE, supra note 194.

223 MASS. ZERO MERCURY STRATEGY, supra note 193.

224 A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION, supra note 3.

225 Id. at IV-8 to IV-10, VIII-4.

226 Id. at VI-16.

227 MASS. ZERO MERCURY STRATEGY, supra note 193.

228 See A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION, supra note 3, at VII-15 to VII-39.

229 Id.

230 NEW ENGLAND GOVERNORS/EASTERN CANADIAN PREMIERS, MERCURY ACTION PLAN 1998 1 (1998), available at http://www.state.ma.us/dep/ors/files/negecp.pdf [hereinafter MERCURY ACTION PLAN].

231 Id.

232 Id. at 2, 4.

233 Id. at 4.

234 See id. at 6-14.

235 Id. at 2-3, 5.

236 Id. at 3.

237 Id. at 7.

238 NEW ENGLAND GOVERNORS AND EASTERN CANADIAN PREMIERS, OVERVIEW OF DISCUSSIONS 1973-2002 47 (2002), available at www.negc.org/documents/NEG-ECP_Overview07_ 03.pdf.

239 MERCURY ACTION PLAN, supra note 230, at 6, 7, 14.

240 Id. at 10.

241 NEW ENGLAND GOVERNORS AND EASTERN CANADIAN PREMIERS, REPORT TO THE NEW ENGLAND GOVERNORS AND EASTERN CANADIAN PREMIERS ON MERCURY PROJECTS 1 (2003), available at http://www.cap-cpma.ca/images/pdf/eng/2003/reportmercury.pdf.

242 MASSACHUSETTS DEP, WHAT MASSACHUSETTS IS DOING ABOUT MERCURY, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/bwp/hgres.htm (last visited July 13, 2004).

243 MASS. ZERO MERCURY STRATEGY, supra note 193, at 10.

244 MERCURY IN THE ENVIRONMENT, supra note 204.

245 MASS. ZERO MERCURY STRATEGY, supra note 193, at 20.

246 MERCURY ACTION PLAN, supra note 230.

247 MASS. ZERO MERCURY STRATEGY, supra note 193, at 39.

248 MASS. GEN. LAWS ch. 16, 21 (2002).

249 MASSACHUSETTS DEP, BEYOND 2000 SOLID WASTE MASTER PLAN, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/bwp/dswm/mplan/fswmpqa6.doc (Dec. 19, 2000).

250 Id.

251 Id.

252 Id.

253 Id.

254 Id.

255 Id.

256 Id.

257 Id.

258 Id.; MASSACHUSETTS DEP, MUNICIPAL WASTE COMBUSTORS: REGULATION AND MONITORING, at http://www.ma.gov/dep/mwc/mwcremon.htm (last visited July 13, 2004) [hereinafter WASTE COMBUSTORS REGULATION].

259 MASSACHUSETTS DEP, MUNICIPAL WASTE COMBUSTORS: ABOUT MUNICIPAL WASTE COMBUSTORS, at http://www.ma.gov/dep/mwc/mwcabout.htm (last visited July 13, 2004).

260 Id.

261 Id.

262 Id.

263 WASTE COMBUSTORS REGULATION, supra note 258.

264 Id.

265 Id.

266 Id.

267 MASS. REGS. CODE tit. 310, 7.08(2) (2001).

268 Id.

269 WASTE COMBUSTORS REGULATION, supra note 258.

270 MASS. REGS. CODE tit. 310, 7.08(2).

271 Id.

272 Id.

273 Id.

274 MASSACHUSETTS DEP, SUMMARY FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT, MUNICIPAL WASTE COMBUSTOR RULE, IWSA ET AL. V. LISS, CIVIL ACTION NO. 99-11906 EFH, at http://www.state.ma.us/DEP/bwp/dswm/files/mwcsum3.doc (Apr. 30, 2001).

275 Id.

276 Id.

277 Id.

278 Id.

279 See MASS. REGS. CODE tit. 310, 7.08(2)(f)(7) (2001).

280 MATERIAL SEPARATION GUIDANCE, supra note 194.

281 Id.

282 Id.

283 Id. at 4.

284 Id. at 10.

285 Id. at 4.

286 Id. at 5-6.

287 Id. at 6.

288 Id. at 8.

289 Id. at 10.

290 Id. at 9.

291 Id.

292 WASTE COMBUSTORS REGULATION, supra note 258.

293 TECHNICAL SUPPORT DOCUMENT, supra note 220, at 7.

294 Id. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) posts annual reports of emissions and information about the facilities Materials Separation Plans on its website. MASSACHUSETTS DEP, MUNICIPAL WASTE COMBUSTORS, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/mwc/mwchome.htm (last visited July 13, 2004).

295 MASS. REGS. CODE tit. 310, 7.29 (2001). The Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group filed a petition requesting rulemaking on air emissions standards for fossil fuel electric plants on September 30, 1998. See Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 30A, 4. In response on October 1, 1998, Governor Paul Cellucci directed DEP to prepare regulations to reduce pollutants from power plants.

296 Id.

297 Id. 7.29(5)(a)(3).

298 Id. 7.29(5)(a)(3)(a).

299 Id. 7.29(5)(a)(3)(b).

300 MERCURY ACTION PLAN, supra note 230.

301 TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY EVALUATION, supra note 174, at 5-6.

302 Id.

303 Id. at 16.

304 Id. at 9-11.

305 TECHNICAL SUPPORT DOCUMENT, supra note 220, at 6.

306 Id. at 7.

307 Id. at 7-8.

308 Id. at 1.

309 Id. at 18-19.

310 Id. at 10.

311 Id. at 17.

312 Id. at 18.

313 Id.

314 Id. at 18-19.

315 See MASSACHUSETTS DEP, SUMMARY OF COMMENTS AND RESPONSES FROM PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE PROPOSED REGULATION 310 CMR 7.29, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/bwp/daqc/files/regs/finalrtc.doc (Apr. 2001).

316 Id.

317 TECHNICAL SUPPORT DOCUMENT, supra note 220, at 3-4.

318 Id. at 13.

319 Id. at 11-12.

320 Id. at 12-13.

321 Id. at 13-14.

322 Id. at 15-16.

323 Id. at 16.

324 The 2004 Mercury Regulations and a Response to Comments document are available at DEP's website. MASSACHUSETTS DEP, AIR QUALITY, REGULATIONS AND NOTICES, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/bwp/daqc/daqcpubs.htmregs (last visited July 13, 2004).

325 69 Fed. Reg. 4651 (Jan. 30, 2004).

326 For facilities with an Administrative Consent Order from DEP in effect when these regulations take effect (June 4, 2004), the mercury compliance deadline is fifteen months after the compliance date for nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide established in the Order. The alternative deadlines will allow the facilities to optimize mercury control co-benefits achieved as a result of new pollution control equipment they are installing to meet the nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide requirements

327 Note these proportional reductions are different from the 85% and 95% control efficiency requirements because the Massachusetts facilities are already achieving substantial control of mercury emissions with their current suite of air pollution control devices.

328 MASSACHUSETTS DEP, BUREAU OF WASTE PREVENTION, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/bwp/daqc/files/regs/mercred.jpg (last visited July 14, 2004).

329 MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3.

330 MERCURY ACTION PLAN, supra note 230.

331 Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, Department of Environmental Protection, Background Information Document and Proposed Amendments to 310 C.M.R. 7.00 et seq. (May 2004), available at http://ww.mass.gov/dep/bwp/daqc/daqcpubs.htmregs; see also Eric Weltman, Going to Waste: Health Care Without Harm Cleans Up Toxic Hospitals, IN THESE TIMES, June 12, 2000, at 5.

332 See HEALTH CARE WITHOUT HARM, MEDICAL WASTE: ALTERNATIVES TO INCINERATION, at http://www.noharm.org/medicalWaste/alternatives (last visited July 13, 2004).

333 MASS. ZERO MERCURY STRATEGY, supra note 195; MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, DENTAL AMALGAM RECYCLING, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/erp/dentists.htm (last visited July 13, 2004).

334 MERCURY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supra note 3.

335 Id.

336 MASSACHUSETTS WATER RESOURCES AUTHORITY, PROPOSED REVISIONS TO THE MASSACHUSETTS WATER RESOURCES AUTHORITY's LOCAL DISCHARGE LIMITS ¶ 17, at http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/03sewer/html/local_limits.htm (May 1, 2002).

337 See id. ¶ 18.

338 Id. ¶ 19.

339 STRATEGIC ENVIROTECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP (STEP), MASSACHUSETTS EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS, MERCURY REMOVAL FROM DENTAL FACILITIES: PART I, at http://www.mass.gov/envir/STEP (June 2003).

340 Id. at 3-5.

341 Based on a per capita extrapolation from U.S. Geological Survey data for 1997. Current use is likely to be somewhat lower due to declining placement of amalgam fillings.

342 See MASSACHUSETTS HEALTHBENCHMARKS, HEALTHBENCHMARKS SPECIAL REPORT: MERCURY, at http://www.healthbenchmarks.org/Mercury/Fulltext.cfm (last visited July 13, 2004).

343 See id.

344 STRATEGIC ENVIROTECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP, supra note 339.

345 MASSACHUSETTS EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS, STATE ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCIES, MASSACHUSETTS DENTAL SOCIETY TARGET DENTAL AMALGAM MERCURY WASTE, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/pao/news/dental.htm (Jan. 29, 2004).

346 Includes general dentists, pediatric dentists, endodontists, and prosthodentists but not oral surgeons, periodontists, or orthodontists.

347 MASSACHUSETTS DEP, ABOUT THE DENTAL AMALGAM MERCURY RECYCLING PROGRAM, at http://www.mass.gov/dep/erp/dentists/about.htm (last visited July 13, 2004) (mandating use of International Organization for Standardization Protocol 11143) [hereinafter ABOUT DENTAL AMALGAM MERCURY RECYCLING]. Although the requirement is 95% removal, the Department notes that comparably priced systems may remove up to 99%. See P. L., Fan et al., Laboratory Evaluation of Amalgam Separators, 133 J. AM. DENTAL ASSN 577, 579-81 (2002)Google Scholar.

348 ABOUT DENTAL AMALGAM MERCURY RECYCLING, supra note 347.

349 Id.

350 Id.

351 Id.

352 Id.

353 See id. EPA, through its Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation, and Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, is exploring opportunities to expand the approach to other states.

354 Id.

355 Id.

356 Id.

357 Id.

358 See SUSAN APRIL & TIM GREINER, EVALUATION OF THE MASSACHUSETTS ENVIRONMENTAL RESULTS PROGRAM, at http://www.napawash.org/pc_economy_environment/epafile01.pdf (June 2000). For an interesting study on compliance, see JAY P. SHIMSHACK & MICHAEL B. WARD, THE IMPACT OF FINES, INSPECTIONS, AND SELF-REPORTING ON ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE, A CASE STUDY OF THE PULP & PAPER INDUSTRY, at http://are.berkeley.edu/~mward/jay.pdf (last visited May 13, 2004).

359 See MASSACHUSETTS HEALTHBENCHMARKS, MASSACHUSETTS MERCURY TIMELINE, at http://www.healthbenchmarks.org/Mercury/Timeline.cfm (last visited July 13, 2004) [hereinafter MASSACHUSETTS MERCURY TIMELINE].

360 See MASSACHUSETTS HEALTHBENCHMARKS, WHAT THE COMMONWEALTH IS DOING, at http://www.healthbenchmarks.org/Mercury/SectionTenCommonwealth.cfm (last visited July 13, 2004).

361 MASSACHUSETTS MERCURY TIMELINE, supra note 359.

362 See NORTHEAST WASTE MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION, MERCURY EDUCATION AND REDUCTION MODEL ACT, at http://www.newmoa.org/Newmoa/htdocs/prevention/mercury/modelleg.cfm (last visited July 13, 2004).

363 See NORTHEAST WASTE MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION, STATUS OF LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL MERCURY PRODUCT LEGISLATION AND LAWS: 2003-2004 LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS, at http://www.newmoa.org/Newmoa/htdocs/prevention/mercury/modelleg.cfm (last visited May 13, 2004).

364 Id.

365 NORTHEAST WASTE MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION, GETTING MERCURY OUT OF SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES, at http://www.newmoa.org/Newmoa/htdocs/prevention/mercury/schools (last visited July 13, 2004).

366 Id.

367 Id.

368 Id.

369 FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, FLORIDA EVERGLADES STUDY REVEALS DECLINE IN MERCURY LEVELS, at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/secretary/news/2003/nov/1106.htm (Nov. 6, 2003).

370 Id.

371 See supra note 195 and accompanying text.